Tag Archives: InXile Entertainment

The Bard’s Tale Trilogy Returns as a Re-Remake Worth a Buy

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TBT_block

 

So, I’d been only lightly following inXile’s progress on The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep with the knowledge that the game was going to be quite impressive and when all of a sudden this trailer pops up in the inbox and waves at me. Well hello there, beautiful. Color me surprised and thrilled, ladies and germs:

 

(thanks, inXile!)

 

Nice. While it would have been great to get these in one download (or disc if it’s console bound), spreading the releases out over time means players can actually finish each game and have room left for part IV whenever it’s released. It’s always great to see Krome Studios hard at work (they’ve been one of my favorite developers since the Ty the Tasmanian Tiger days). Hmmm. Time to start carving out some spare time because it’s looking like Skara Brae might be a decent (albeit dangerous) vacation spot for a little while.

-GW

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The Bard’s Tale: Remastered and Resnarkled (PS4/Vita): Not A Review (Yet)

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A few bards.JPG

A few years back, when I liked certain games I tended to go mildly berserk and buy a few versions of it (if it made it to multiple platforms). Hey, don’t look at me like that! I’m far from the only one who dis/does this (although I’ve cut down on that significantly over time thanks to me not exactly rolling in dough these days). Anyway, InXile Entertainment‘s The Bard’s Tale from 2004 was one of those games I snapped up on anything it appeared on thanks to its use of Snowblind Studios’ wonderful game engine and often hilarious parodying of RPG tropes including subtle nods to the original game.

Flash forward to late last month when The Bard’s Tale: Remastered and Resnarkled appeared without fanfare as a digital-only release on PSN. Ten bucks for a cross-platform HD remaster (PS4 and Vita) with a cross-buy/cross-play feature that allowed players to take the game on the road and use cloud saves to continue at home? SOLD. I didn’t hesitate at all or bother to even bug InXile about a review code. This was certainly going to be the best version of the game to date and yep, the ability to play anywhere and go home to continue was going to keep me grinning long into the wee hours. What could possibly go wrong?

Well… a few things folks. Thankfully, cross-play and cloud saves are flawless, but in terms of other things on the technical front, this version of the game (done by Square 1 Games) needs patching. Badly. I was initially going to write up a full review, but have decided to wait a few days to see if the problems can be fixed as the older console versions were great overall and this remaster needs to be as good or better in terms of consistent performance. Right now, it’s not.

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Torment: Tides of Numenera Kickstarter: inXile Gets That Planescape “Sequel” Underway…

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torment artWell, now… That’s going exactly as predicted, ladies and gentlemen. As in it’s ALMOST funded on the first day (and probably FULLY funded by the time or very shortly after I complete this brief post). Torment: Tides of Numenera is an upcoming PC RPG game that will take place in the world of Monte Cook’s new tabletop RPG setting (called Numenera of course), and as you can see if you poke around both the Kickstarter and Numenera pages, it all looks quite spectacular indeed.

As with other projects this huge, Digital and physical versions will be made available for backers (whee!) and I hope this actually makes it into retail at some point, as the original game is one of those classics for the ages and this one (being cooked up by some that were involved in that epic) is looking mighty amazing as well. Getting more people to play a game like this outside of those lots of throwing money at it for strictly personal reasons (hell, If I had a few thousand bucks lying around, I’d want to be an in-game NPC too!) is a pretty good way for gaming to gain a bit more respect among some who overly criticize the hobby based on what they see in the media… Continue reading →

The Bard’s Tale Unfolds on GOG.com – Ye Olde, Yet New-ish School Fun…

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I’m old enough to remember the classic original trilogy (I didn’t get around to playing them until the late 1990’s) and this not quite remake/reboot from 2004 that got decent reviews (I even reviewed it for one site back in the day) and I say you should try it out even if you’re a fan of the older games who doesn’t like more action-oriented experiences. You get those three vintage games as a bonus with this newer one (so there!) and the team at inXile Entertainment actually made quite a hilarious experience to dive into. While the gameplay is purely action/RPG (in the visual and gameplay vein of the Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath games), the writing is really funny for the bulk of the Bard’s adventure and there are even “follow the bouncing ball” musical numbers that may have you single along even if you thought you wouldn’t… Continue reading →

Crowdfunding Goes Classic (Again!): Wasteland 2 Gets The Kickstarter Treatment

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Wasteland 2 Kickstarter

“I have waited a long time to make this game, and I now have my dream team put together to help make it a reality,” said Brian Fargo of inXile Entertainment. “I had the main storyline created by Jason Anderson, the co-creator of Fallout™. We have Mike Stackpole and Alan Pavlish aboard who were the main designers of the original Wasteland™. Mark Morgan is doing the music and he composed the score for Fallout™1 and 2. And we have the fantastic talent of Andree Wallin helping with the concept art.”

 

Excellent. Now, inXile is in on the Kickstarter funding bandwagon and this time, it’s the official sequel to one of the greatest RPGs ever created, so you know it’s going to get funded pretty quickly. With a million dollar budget (Brian Fargo says he’ll chip in that final100K if at least 900K gets pledged), the chance to score a big box copy of the game for a $50 and even get in the game (as anything from a NPC, Weapon, location or commemorative statue), this one’s as exciting as the Double Fine Adventure project that generated a record-shattering amount of pledges in a single day. Given the original Wasteland’s influence on the RPG genre (it inspired the Fallout series and many other post-apocalyptic games since) and the fine folks behind it, this one’s a clear winner in my book.

OK, you know what to do, folks.Give ’til it hurts (or just get someone else to if you’re broke from giving Double Fine all your money earlier). As for me, I need to have a Kickstarter project going just to help me pay for these games, grrrrr. Hmmm… it might be time to eBay a few old games again. Now, all someone needs to do is get an Anvil of Dawn PC reboot/remake going. I’d be all over that in a heartbeat, whether it was to create character or environment art or help plan out the storyline.

Hunted: The Demon’s Forge "Around Dark Corners" Trailer

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A bit of behind the scenes with an emphasis on Hunted’s sound design. Pretty cool and I can safely say that with a pair of good headphones, the game’s effects, voices and music are really fantastic.

Hunted: The Demon’s Forge "Call of The Forge" Trailer

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Excellent behind the scenes video featuring InXile staff talking up their upcoming co-op centric action RPG (which is a ton of fun, by the way). May 31st can’t some soon enough for me. PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, folks…

Hunted: The Demon’s Forge Hands-On

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Fans of tightly focused “old-school” hack & slash RPG’s as well as anyone looking for a hefty challenge should absolutely stick inXile’s upcoming PS3/Xbox 360 game on their to-do lists. At a recent Bethesda press event, I got to sit down with a final build of the game and was very impressed at the level of challenge in the game (and the presentation’s not bad either). While inXile has noted previously that Hunted’s cover-based gameplay is inspired by Epic’s Gears of War series, the fantasy trappings and two tough yet likable leads should appeal to both male and female gamers alike. I got a taste of both the single player and co-op story modes (with a fellow editor) and yes, you should click on down to read the real deal on what’s going to be a bit of a sleeper hit this June. Continue reading →

Hunted: The Demon’s Forge "It Was Found" Trailer

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Hunted is looking to be an excellent co-op focused action/RPG and another winner for Bethesda. InXile is cooking up a gorgeous mix of visuals and gameplay that should satisfy fans of multiple genres. I’m in, for sure – what about you?

Hunted: The Demon’s Forge "The World of Hunted" Trailer

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InXile’s upcoming co-op focused action/RPG is looking to be one of the more memorable releases of 2011 whether you’re a fan of the genre or not. Here’s a look at a few of the different environments you’ll be adventuring in and around – text below courtesy of Bethesda. Keep this one on your radars, folks…

Welcome to the World of Hunted.

Tempted by riches, the warrior Caddoc and huntress E’lara will travel through a sprawling empire beset by evil. As their path twists through the once thriving town of Dyfed and towards the mighty capital city of Llyr, they will face a corruption that is spreading across the land. The kingdom’s ancient ruins have become overrun with foul creatures, and innocent villagers are being driven underground into dungeons. As they draw closer to the ruins of Kala Moor a dark army gathers, threatening everything in its path.